(The following story by Stephanie Harris-Smith appeared on the Hope Star website on July 27, 2009.)
HOPE, Ark. — Details for a memorandum of agreement are still being ironed out in regards to an Amtrak stop in Hope, according to Parks and Tourism Director Paul Henley.
Henley and Hope City Manager Catherine Cook talked with Amtrak officials last week in a conference call in which details were discussed for a second or third time.
“We are now waiting on Amtrak to put together the memorandum of agreement. We can’t start on the platform until that is complete,” Henley said.
Amtrak Media Relations Manager of Government Affairs and Communications Marc Magliari said the purpose of the conference call was to make unofficial talk “official.”
“We have had a lot of conversations that have been informal. We need to formalize these discussions just to make sure we are all on the same page,” Magliari said.
There are details that must be worked out with Amtrak, Union Pacific and the City of Hope dealing with, costs, regulations, and maintenance of the station, according to Magliari.
“We have to make sure UP is signed-off on us stopping the train there and the plans for the platform, since it is built on their property,” Magliari said. “We have to make sure the city understands what is expected in maintaining the station. We are certainly hoping we can begin stopping soon. We had the call to work through the official process.”
Magliari said Hope has a lovely station and he is excited about the new stop.
“We would turn on to accept reservations and sell tickets for Hope once everything is certain,” Magliari said.
Cook confirmed the information given by Henley and Magliari.
“They have a lot of departments that it has to run through and get the blessing of,” Cook said.